We regret to announce that Jim Keene ’57 passed away the evening of Wednesday, October 17.

For over 60 years, Jim Keene lived the Sigma Pi creed both as a stellar supporter of Mu Chapter and as a civic leader in his community. After pledging in the fall of 1953, Jim served with dedication, devotion, and passion in order not only to establish Mu Chapter as a strong organization but to complement its stability in both housing and scholarship funding. Jim served as president of Mu Chapter’s alumni board over 21 years. In 2014, he was presented with the Founders’ Award, one of our fraternity’s highest honors. Jim served for 32 years with Peter Kiewit Sons Inc., a global construction company, and managed Humboldt Specialty Manufacturing Company, an active design and manufacturing company for diverse industries. He was a director of Mu Chapter’s alumni board and the Mu Chapter Educational Foundation.

The directors of the Mu Chapter Alumni Board and Educational Foundation have unanimously elected to name the Memorial Library at the Sigma Pi chapter house as the “James H. Keene III Memorial Library” in recognition of his tireless leadership and contributions to the fraternity, to the chapter, and to its members.

If you would like to make a contribution in memory of Brother Keene, we invite you to visit the Dining and Learning Campaign’s donation page to make an online gift or to mail a gift to:
Mu Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity Inc.
P.O. Box 876
Ithaca, NY 14851
(Please make checks payable to “Mu Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity Inc.”)